This paper describes the development and validation of measures of students' and teachers' perceptions of the extent to which their school is a community. Community, in this instance, focuses on the quality of social relationships in the school. The development of measures of school community is reported, and the construct validity of these…

The multimethod approach used to collect a assessment data at the local and state levels for the Louisiana Teacher Assessment Program is described. This program develops information about a new teacher's competence that can be used to suggest instructional improvement activities and to decide on qualifications for certification. The first…

This book is designed to help adult educators become skillful in conducting an informal assessment of learning. Chapter 1 gives a background in the basic concepts of assessment and stresses the importance of assessing the design of activities and the behaviors as well as the achievements of learners. Chapter 2 introduces the use of the planning…

This study explored the effects of family background variables on coping styles, and the contribution of coping styles and locus of control to the overall adjustment of older adolescents. The objectives of this study were to develop a Canadian adaptation of the Seiffge-Krenke Adolescent Coping Style Scale; to explore the influences of family and…

Examinee response times from a computerized adaptive test taken by 204 examinees taking a certification examination were analyzed using a hierarchical linear model. Two equations were posed: a within-person model and a between-person model. Variance within persons was eight times greater than variance between persons. Several variables…

A two-dimensional, four-category model for classifying the way that people relate to others, or relationship style, was developed by T. Alessandra (1987). The model characterizes style in terms of openness, with poles of open and self-contained, and directness, with poles of direct and indirect. Combining the poles of the two dimensions yields the…

This digest describes some basics of the construction of multiple-choice tests. As a rule, the test maker should strive for test item stems (introductory questions or incomplete statements at the beginning of each item that are followed by the options) that are clear and parsimonious, answers that are unequivocal and chosen by the students who do…

Generalizability theory is used to examine the sources of variability present in a teacher and course evaluation instrument. Two studies were conducted. In the first study, four different forms commonly used by one specific college of a large midwestern university were examined using responses of 915 students. The analysis of variance performed on…

When William G. Perry (1968) developed his scheme of nine stages of cognitive development, most of which are experienced during the college years, he did not attempt to quantify it. Subsequently, T. D. Erwin (1983) constructed a scale that attempted to quantify the Perry scheme. His findings supported the overall conception of student development…

This report summarizes the results from two studies. The first assessed the comparability of scores derived from linear computer-based (CBT) and computer adaptive (CAT) versions of the three Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) General Test measures. A verbal CAT was taken by 1,507, a quantitative CAT by 1,354, and an analytical CAT by 995…

There is a considerable interest at Educational Testing Service (ETS) to include performance-based, natural language constructed-response items on standardized tests. Such items can be developed, but the projected time and costs required to have these items scored by human graders would be prohibitive. In order for ETS to include these types of…

This paper presents suggested readings to aid instructors in honing their teaching skills. As a point of departure 20 IDEA Teaching Methods are used. Readings are divided into four categories: communicating content and purpose, involving students, creating enthusiasm, and preparing exams. Helpful material is suggested for specific topics within…

The Test of Pragmatic Language (TOPL) is an individually administered instrument designed to assess pragmatic language skills that can be used with students in kindergarten through high school. It is more specifically intended for use with children, adolescents, and adults with learning disabilities, language delays, reading difficulties, or…

Test developers continue to struggle with the technical and logistical problems inherent in assessing achievement across different languages. Many testing programs offer separate language versions of a test to evaluate the achievement of examinees in different language groups. However, comparison of individuals who took different language versions…

A set of methods is proposed for the analysis of opportunity to learn (OTL) in relation to achievement in large-scale educational assessments. The focus is on how to assess the effect of OTL on performance while taking prior performance and other background factors into account. The methods are illustrated with mathematics data from the National…